Although the Magic are said to be prioritizing an experienced head coach to replace Jamahl Mosley, with Billy Donovan and Jeff Van Gundy at the forefront of their search, Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) says there have been “ongoing whispers” that Spurs associate head coach Sean Sweeney is still a candidate for the position.
As Stein notes, Sweeney would be a first-time head coach. The 41-year-old was an assistant for a handful of years in Dallas and received consideration for previous head coaching positions before becoming San Antonio’s top assistant under Mitch Johnson last year.
Sweeney has been credited by the Spurs as the key to their impressive defensive turnaround in 2025/26. They had the fifth-worst defensive rating in the NBA last season, but held the third-best mark in ’25/26.
Sweeney has also been linked to the head coaching vacancies in Chicago and Dallas, with one report referring to him as a “prime candidate” join the Bulls as Donovan’s replacement. That same report from Jake Fischer said people around the league viewed Donovan as the frontrunner for the job in Orlando, though that was nearly a week ago.
Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:
- The Heat control the 13th and 41st overall picks in June’s draft. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel writes (subscriber link), the goal for Miami is to work out and speak to as many as many prospects as possible, but the team recognizes that isn’t always possible. “At the end of the day,” said assistant general manager Adam Simon, “you want to feel as comfortable as you can with the player you’re selecting. And you don’t want to not have that opportunity to spend time with the player. So I think part of it is seeing the player on the court, which for the most part, we’ve seen these players for many years on the court. There’s also the part off the court, how they spend time in our building and getting to know them and having a meal with them. I think that’s also a part of it. But we can’t say we wouldn’t take a player that we didn’t bring in for a workout.”
- After an encouraging 2025/26 campaign, the Hawks appear to be on the upswing, with several talented young players and both the draft assets and financial flexibility to make additional roster upgrades, Yossi Gozlan writes in his offseason preview for Third Apron (Substack link). While Atlanta could technically operate with cap room this summer, Gozlan expects the team to operate over the cap and below the first tax apron, giving the Hawks access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Their most likely pathway for upgrades is via the trade market, Gozlan adds.
- Keith Smith of Spotrac previews the Hornets‘ offseason, writing that re-signing Coby White will be a top priority after Charlotte traded for the North Carolina native prior to the February deadline. Smith suggests the Hornets should attempt to re-sign White to a descending contract in the range of $72-88MM over four years, and notes that frontcourt and wing depth should be priorities with the 14th and 18th picks in next month’s draft. Smith doesn’t think Brandon Miller will receive a maximum-salary rookie scale extension, pointing to a four-year, $140MM offer as potential compromise.